Harry Potter And What Lies Ahead
by supergurl-no-1
Summary: After Harry repairs the two-way mirror that Sirius had given him, he receives a shock when he looks into it. Hoping to find *spoiler*, Harry and his friends make their way to the department of mysteries..... WARNING: *spoilers* from OOTP
1. Birthday Presents

*****Disclaimer: Anything/anyone you recognize from the 'Harry Potter' books is J.K. Rowling's. The plot is mine and anything/anyone you don't recognize is mine also!*****

            Summer had never been better for Harry Potter, as he sat on his bed and looked contentedly at the three birthday cards that be had received.  For one thing, the Dursleys had almost stopped treating him like he was a disgusting bug that they wanted to squish; and for another, it was only two weeks until he returned to Hogwarts.  He had received cards from one of his best friends: Hermione Granger, Hagrid, and Dobby.  Along with their cards, Harry had received a new homework planner from Hermione, a bundle of oddly colored and shaped pies and sweets from Hagrid, and a pair of socks from Dobby (one was blue with dragons magically flying around on it, while the other was black with orange jack-o-lanterns gleaming on it).

            He placed the three cards on his bedside table and frowned at them.  For some odd reason he hadn't gotten a birthday card from his other best friend, Ron Weasley.  He got up and crossed his bedroom over to the window and looked out into the night, as though expecting to see some sign of an owl flying towards him bearing a note from Ron.  He wasn't upset about not getting a card or present, he had spent too many years with the Dursleys to care about that, but he hadn't heard from Ron all summer.

            And as though his thoughts had made it come, a shape emerged in the distance and as it passed over one of the street-lamps, Harry saw that it was Errol, the Weasley family owl, accompanied by Pig, Ron's owl.  Errol soared inside and collapsed onto Harry's bed, but Pig, trying to fly free of his burden, managed to lift the package up three inches, before he fell back with a _thud_.  Errol was very old, and long journeys usually tired him, so Harry untied the package on the owls' leg and helped Errol up to his snowy owl, Hedwig's, empty cage, where the owl hooted gratefully and began to sip some water.  Pig, meanwhile, attempted to zoom around the room, but only accomplished knocking over a lamp.

            Praying that the Dursleys hadn't heard the crash of his lamp, he quickly went back over to his bed and began to unwrap the package from Ron.  Inside, it contained a note:

_Harry-_

_            How's your summer going?  I'm having a great summer here in _London_. Hermione's coming to stay today.  Sorry that I haven't written to you all summer, but Dumbledore doesn't want too many owls going in and out...you know what I mean? _

_            Mum wants you to come and stay here with us, but we don't know how to get you here.  Lupin reckons you should take the Knight Bus.  What do you think of Tuesday at about __7pm__?  If the muggles will let you, then write back and I'll meet you on the Knight Bus Tuesday in front of your Aunt and Uncle's house.  If the muggles won't let you, then write back and I'll meet you on the Knight Bus Tuesday in front of your Aunt and Uncle's house, anyway._

_            Hope you like the present and I'll see you on Tuesday._

_-Ron_

            Harry was sure that his Aunt and Uncle would let him go, they would be quite happy to get rid of him early.  So, he scribbled a note to Ron saying that he would check with his uncle, rolled up the parchment, and attached it to Pig's leg.  Then, he went over to Errol and sent him off through the open window along with Pig.

            Next, he turned to his presents.  Ron had given him a handsome watch, which not only told him the time, but the date, temperature, and the percent of magic that was in the atmosphere.  It now read 4.24%.  Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, had given him a large box that contained some of her home-made mince pies along with some sweets of all varieties.  Feeling grateful that he would have something sweet to sustain him through Dudley's diet for the next two days, he hid the lot under the loose floorboard under his bed.

            Harry put Ron's card with the rest, sat down on his bed and looked at them.  Never in his life had he felt so happy to be a part of a group of people who cared for him…especially now that Sirius was gone.  He knew that he had all of those friends who looked forward to seeing him in two days time and it made him feel really good.  He slumped down onto his pillows and immediately fell to sleep. 


	2. Back To Grimmauld Place

            On Monday morning, Harry made his way down to breakfast, having formulated a plan in his mind.  He was going to ask Uncle Vernon if he could leave with Ron the following night and if Uncle Vernon refused, then he would threaten to tell his friends at Grimmauld Place.  The Dursleys had been extremely frightened by Harry's welcome party at Kings Cross Station that they had laid off denying him of the things that he wanted.  This meant that Harry could now watch the news with them without dealing with horrible comments.

            He walked into the kitchen to find Aunt Petunia busying herself with the stove and Uncle Vernon sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.  As he sat down Aunt Petunia gave him the tiniest glance and Uncle Vernon shuffled his paper nervously.

            "Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked, in the most polite voice he could muster, to the newspaper sitting across from him.

            Uncle Vernon let out a loud grunt, which he took to mean that he had heard him speak.

            "My friend, Ron, from Hog-_school _invited me to stay with him for the rest of the summer.  Can I meet him in front of your house tomorrow at around seven?"

            "Fine…" Was the reply.

            Harry got up, not wanting the half-muffin that he was going to get for breakfast, and ran upstairs to write to Ron.

*** * ***

            At 7pm the next day, Harry found himself sitting by his trunk and Hedwig (in her cage) in front of the Dursley's house.  He was so happy to be going back to Grimmauld place and even to see Ron and Hermione again.

            He knew that he wouldn't have to flag down the Knight Bus, because Ron had probably already instructed the driver to come to his Aunt and Uncle's house.  So, he waited.

            The bus didn't show up until about 7:30 and by this time, the street lamps had gone on.  He heard banging overhead, and pulled his things out of the way just in time before a large purple, triple-decker bus screeched to a stop where he had just been.            

            Soon, the doors opened and a pimply boy with large ears stepped out onto the pavement.  "Good evening!  I am Stan Shunpike, and we are here to pick up Mister Harry Potter to bri-"

            "Yeah, yeah, I know!" Shouted Harry, so that Stan stopped speaking into the night and turned to face him directly. 

            "All right then!" He said, "Let's get a move on!"

            He lifted Harry's trunk along with Hedwig and loaded them onto the bus.  When Harry got on, he saw three red-haired people and one brown and bushy haired person sitting at the far end.  After paying 11 sickles to Stan, he made his way to the back to sit with Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione.

            "Hullo, mate!" Said Ron, happily.

            "Hi,"  Harry said to everyone.

            "Hello, Harry dear," said Mrs. Weasley, "I'm so glad that you could make it."

            "Harry!  It's great to see you!"

            Harry sat down in-between Ron and Hermione, who glanced at each other nervously.

            Harry, guessing what they were nervous about, said, "I'm okay…about Sirius, you know."

            They both smiled at him and Hermione actually hugged him.  It took him a few minutes to fully recover from this shock, before he said, "So, how's your summer been?"

            "We'll talk about it later," said Ron, "too many people here."  And as Harry looked around, he noticed seven or eight other witches and wizards, not including Stan Shunpike and Ernie, the driver.

            In no time at all, Stan was shouting, "Grimmauld Place, right-o you five!"  And soon, they were walking up the steps to number twelve.  As soon as Harry entered the place, five people rushed up to greet him: Lupin, Mudungus Fletcher, Tonks, Moody, and Bill Weasley.

            He took one look around the place and instantly knew - he was finally back where he belonged.


	3. Lupin and Oclumency

            As soon as Harry found his way around number twelve, Grimmauld Place, he could see and even smell that a wonderful dinner had been cooked for everyone.  It looked as though the Order had gone all-out to make his first night at Grimmauld Place as excellent as they could.

            "Wow…" he said in wonder, as he walked into the kitchen.  The table was set beautifully for sixteen and it was laden with dishes of cakes, puddings, fries, turkey, sausages, potatoes…the smell made Harry even more hungry than he already was.

            "Harry, dear, you can come and sit down if you'd like," said Mrs. Weasley, motioning to a chair at the far head of the table.

            "Who else is coming for dinner?"  Harry asked Lupin, apprehensively.

            "Let's see," he said, "There are the ten of us." He said motioning around the table, as people began to take their seats, "and Fred and George should be arriving soon; Mr. Weasley, naturally; Hagrid is stopping by along with Madam Maxime; and…oh, yes!  Dumbledore said that he would come tonight."

            "Dumbledore?" Harry repeated, "But…he _never _comes here!  At least he didn't last summer."

            "He said that he wanted to talk to you, Harry." Said Bill, "wouldn't tell us what about, though."  Lupin shuffled in his chair uncomfortably.

            As Harry sat down, two faint pop's sounded and all of a sudden Fred and George were marching over to him, wringing his hand.  "Nice to see you, Harry old chap!" Said Fred, "Yes," Said George, pushing Fred out of the way, "it is quite _charming _to see you old boy!"

            "That's enough Fred, George.  Harry's only just arrived!" Said Mrs. Weasley.

            "Fred and George," Ron muttered to Harry.  "Ever since they've started the joke shop, they've been acting like kings of the universe." He sighed, "It gets annoying after a while, though," he added as an afterthought.

            As Fred and George took their seats, the door in the hall opened and Mr. Weasley came in, accompanied by Hagrid and Madam Maxime.  "All righ' Harry?" Said Hagrid gruffly.

            "Bonjour," said Madam Maxime.

            "Hello Harry, everyone!" Said Mr. Weasley, "just gotten off work!  It's a nightmare there!  We're _still _getting howlers from people saying that You-Know-Who is not back…and from people who say that we should have warned them earlier!  I've been putting out fires all day!"  As he got closer, Harry could see that his eyebrows were singed and his face was a bit dirty.  He took his seat and everyone around the table began to look apprehensively at the door, waiting for Dumbledore.

            "Dumbledore should be arriving later," said Moody, "so we can dig in now."  He picked up a sausage with his fork, sniffed it, and took a great bite out of one end.

            Harry began to help himself to the food all around him as the babble of talk broke out around the table.  Tonks was, yet again, changing her nose for the pleasure of Ginny and Hermione; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in deep conversation with Lupin and Moody; and Fred, George, Mudungus, Hagrid, and Madam Maxime seemed to be talking about the joke shop, though Madam Maxime didn't look remotely interested.  This left Harry free to talk to Ron.

            "So," he said, "what've you been doing here all summer?"

            "Well," said Ron, "we're still trying to improve this place so that it's livable.  We got rid of some things up on the top floor yesterday, but tomorrow, we're gonna start working on the attic." He said, "I don't really reckon there's anything bad up there, though.  When Sirius was here," he looked nervously at Harry, who looked down at his plate, determined not to let Ron see how much pain it was causing him to talk about Sirius, "well, he said that his family rarely went up into the attic.  He had been up there a couple times, but now there's probably just a load of dust everywhere."

            Ron looked up at Harry again, and just as Ron was about to open his mouth Harry said, "Let's not talk about Sirius _that _much…okay?"

            "Sure, mate." Said Ron.

            Harry helped himself to more food and just when he was feeling sleepy and ready for bed, the door in the hall opened once again.  In stepped a tall man with a blue pointed wizards hat, deep blue robes to match, and a long flowing white beard.  Dumbledore was the wizard that Harry admired above all others - and the only wizard that Lord Voldemort had ever feared.

            He walked into the kitchen just as the nose died away and looked at everyone with his twinkling eyes.  "Harry," he said, "if you would be so kind as to come with me into the hall for a moment."

            Harry got up, aware that every pair of eyes in the room was on him, and followed his Headmaster into the hallway.

            Once they got there, Dumbledore turned to Harry and said, "Harry, it is my wish that you continue studying Oclumency again this year."

            "But…why, professor?" Harry asked, "Would Voldemort try to get inside my head again after what you did to him last year?  He knows that you wouldn't sacrifice me now."

            "He knows that I will not sacrifice you, but that will not stop him from trying to possess you.  He could make you do things, find out secrets using you, and even hurt other people through you."

            "Will I have to study it with Snape again?" He asked.

            "_Professor Snape, Harry." Said Dumbledore, "But no, you will not be studying it with Professor Snape again."_

            "Then who?" Asked Harry.

            "I have asked Lupin to come back to school again this year and be your defense against the dark arts teacher again this year.  He has kindly agreed to come back and he is also willing to help teach you."

            "But won't the parents send owls again?" Harry asked, "Won't they be mad that there's a wearwolf teaching their children again?"

            "I expect that some parents will be," said Dumbledore, calmly, "but as long as everyone is assured that Professor Lupin takes the potion around the full moon, it'll be okay.  Some people might even be comforted by him being there," Dumbledore went on, "they might feel that if Voldemort decides to attack at Hogwarts, Professor Lupin could drive him away.  I daresay that Voldemort won't be that intimidated by a wearwolf, but we will let people believe what they wish." He finished, simply.

            "Okay…" Said Harry, awkwardly.  Professor Lupin had been his most favorite defense against the dark arts teacher and he would be thrilled to have him back.  But, now with the prospect of more Oclumency lessons, he wasn't all too happy about having Lupin return.

            He let Dumbledore lead him back into the kitchen, gave a meaningful look at Lupin, who nodded back, and sat down.  As soon as he did, Ron swarmed him with questions about his talk with Dumbledore, but Harry only told him that he would let him know as soon as they went to bed that night.

            But, as they made their way up to bed, Lupin stopped Harry and pulled him aside.

            "So," he said, "Dumbledore's told you that I'm coming back, has he." It was more of a statement than a question.

            "Yeah," said Harry, "and about the Oclumency."

            "Ah, well, I just wanted to tell you…don't make it known that I'm teaching you after hours.  Just tell people that you have detention, or something.  I don't want a lot of attention drawn to the fact that I'm back."

            "Okay," said Harry and with a quick 'good-night' he went upstairs, changed into his pajamas, and got into bed.

            Once he was tight under his covers, Ron asked him to relive his chat with Dumbledore.  Ron didn't seem too startled by the news; on the contrary, he acted like he had known it all already.  When Harry told him this he said, "Well, Fred and George left some of those extendible ears, and we heard him and Lupin talking the other day.  We couldn't hear much, but we thought we heard something about Lupin coming back to work and you doing Oclumency again."

            "Oh," said Harry, startled, "Well…'night."

            "'Night," he heard Ron grunt from across the room.

**Thanx 2:**

**TeamExtremeGurl: I'm writing more! Happy now?!?!? lolz!**


	4. From Grimmauld Place to The Granger's to...

            The next day Harry woke up to the smells of breakfast wafting up to his and Ron's bedroom.  He had slept so good that all he wanted to do was lay there, but when Ron yelled for him to wake up, he had no choice but to go downstairs.

            Everyone except for Hermione and Ginny seemed to be finished with their breakfast, so, he and Ron sat down across from them and helped themselves to porridge, occasionally speaking to each other.

            Harry looked outside through one of the open windows and saw a beautiful sunny day.  He and Ron could probably go out later and practice for quidditch in the back yard.

Finally, once most of the porridge was gone, Ginny blurted out, "so, what _did _Professor Dumbledore talk to you about last night, Harry?"

Harry smiled and told her and Hermione all about Lupin coming back to work and him teaching Harry Occlumency.  They didn't look too surprised about this either and when Hermione began to explain to him about the extendable-ears Harry cut her off and told her that he already knew.

"Oh," she said, "well anyway, everyone.  I just thought that I'd let you all know that my mum and dad have invited you all to stay with us for the rest of the summer.  I've already checked with your mum, Ron and Ginny, and she's said yes."

"Really?" Said Harry, "that'd be great!"

"Brilliant!" Said Ron.

"Oh, I've never been inside a muggle house before!" Said Ginny, happily.

"So _that's _why you didn't bring your school things with you!" Said Ron.

"My parents will be coming to pick us up tomorrow at five-o-clock," said Hermione.

"But…" said Harry, "they don't know where the headquarters is, do they?"

"No, but I've told them to meet us up at the bus stop on top of that hill in front of this house," she said.

"Oh," said Ron, "well, I guess we won't be cleaning the attic, after all."

"Harry," said Hermione, "d'you think that I could borrow Hedwig?  I told my mum that I would write to her if Ron's mum said yes."

"Yeah, sure," said Harry, and he led her up to his and Ron's bedroom so that she could write to her parents.  Once she had scribbled a small note on a bit of parchment, Harry tied it to Hedwig's leg and she flew out through the open window.

* * *

The next day at five-o-clock Harry, Ron, and Ginny's things were loaded into Hermione's parents' car and they were driving to Hermione's house.  It took them almost an hour to reach her house, from Grimmauld place and when Ron and Ginny stepped up to the front they had looks on their faces that resembled how Harry had felt the first time he had been inside The Burrow.

Hermione's house was very tall and very white.  It had to have been three stories high with black shutters and a black front-door, with a horse-shoe for a knocker.  There was a small garden arranged around the walkway in the front with brightly colored red, orange, pink, and yellow flowers flowing together in patterns.

The mail-box was attached to the house, next to the front door.  As Ron and Ginny passed it, Harry saw Ron lift the lid and peer inside. He also heard Ron distinctly say, "Wow! So this is what those muggle post-men put the letters they send in!  I always thought that the muggles had to go to the post office and actually pick up their letters there!" 

As they stepped inside Ron and Ginny looked around as though they had never seen something quite like Hermione's house before.  Their eyes kept darting to the air-conditioner's, fans, stereo, computer, and television.  Ron even reached out and picked up the phone as they passed it, and Hermione had to pry him away from it before she could lead them upstairs.

She led Harry and Ron up to the spare bedroom where they deposited their things and waited outside while Ginny put her things in Hermione's bedroom, Ron looking around the deserted hallway with fascination at the tiny waterfall perched on a small table.  He was also looking at the electrical sockets with utter interest and kept attempting to stick his fingers in them, but Harry kept pulling him back just in time.  If the Dursleys could see Ron now, they would think that he had gone mad.  Harry could almost imagine his Uncle's voice, "sticking his fingers in sockets…I guess that _his _kind aren't up to date on all of our electrical appliances!"

Hermione's father hadn't been there to pick them up, so Harry assumed that he had been home cooking.  His assumption was confirmed when he stepped into the kitchen and saw that yet another wonderful dinner had been cooked.

They all sat down and began to eat.  Harry, who had never really spoken to Hermione's parents, said, "so…er…Mr. and Mrs. Granger.  Thank you for inviting us to stay."

"It was our pleasure.  You're Harry, is that correct?" Hermione's mother said.

"Yeah," said Harry, "Harry Potter," he was relieved that Hermione's parents were muggles, because otherwise they would be staring fixedly at the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"And you're Ron and Ginny Weasley?" She asked pointing at Ron and Ginny.

"Yes," they said together.

"Of course Hermione's told us all about you three," she said happily, "and I believe that we've met before.  That time that we were all in Diagon Alley and there was that famous…that Lockhart man at the book store who was getting his picture taken for the newspaper.  And then the photographer pulled you into the picture as well, Harry."

"Uh, yes…" said Harry, awkwardly.

"Mum!" Moaned Hermione, "Just leave him a lone! Please!"

"But, Dear.  You never told us why Harry here is so famous."

"Mum! I really don't think that Harry wants to talk about it."

"Yes dear, just let him eat in peace," it was the first time Harry had ever heard Hermione's father speak.

"It's okay," said Harry quietly and he began to explain about Voldemort, his parents being murdered, and his escapes from Voldemort in the past school years.

By the time he had finished, both of Hermione's parents were staring open mouthed at the scar on his forehead.  Along with them, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were staring blankly at him as though all of the information that he'd just told them was new to their ears.  It was amazing how much of a resemblance Hermione and her mother had when they both looked frightened.  Harry couldn't understand it though.  Why _did _Hermione, Ron, and Ginny look frightened?  Everything that Harry had explained they had known, hadn't they?

But Ron answered his thoughts for him, "prophecy?" He asked, "But…you didn't tell us anything about a prophecy written about – about _you_."

"Oh yeah," said Harry, he had completely forgotten that he hadn't told Ron, Hermione, or Ginny about the prophecy that Professor Trelawney had made about him.  "Dumbledore told me about it at the end of last year," he explained, "and I really didn't feel like talking much…you know with Sirius and everything."

"Wow, Harry," said Hermione softly.  She looked in awe of him.  "I've read theories of things that are in the Department of Mysteries but nothing has come close to that!"

Nobody really spoke much for the rest of dinner and Hermione's parents seemed to act especially nice to Harry since he told them all about his past.

It was a relief to get away from all of their curious faces and to finally get to sleep. 

* * *

            Harry didn't really remember very much of his stay at Hermione's house, besides that after countless questions from the other residents of the Granger household, he was being treated normally again.  It was the thirty-first of August and they were due back on the Hogwarts express the next day.

He sat in the middle of the living room rug, flipping through his school books that he had gotten the day before while in Diagon Alley.  Ron and Ginny sat in two squishy chairs playing wizard chess (Ron was beating Ginny miraculously); while Hermione absentmindedly stroked Crookshanks by the fire.

Harry and Ron had both received twelve O.W.L.'s and Hermione had received fourteen.  Harry and Ron had amazingly passed every subject (with the exception of Divination).  Harry couldn't believe his eyes when he found out that he'd gotten an 'Outstanding' on his Potions exam.  He assumed that this must have been because Snape wasn't the one who was testing him, but Dumbledore could've also stepped in if Snape was grading his exam.  Ron and Harry would be in all of the same classes again this year, studying to become Aurors.  Hermione, on the other hand, still didn't know what her career choice was going to be.  She was just going to continue with all of her subjects and then when she graduated from Hogwarts she was going to make her choice.

The rain pounded on the windows and as Harry looked outside he could see the trees straining under the strength of the wind.  The sky was a dark grayish-blue and every once in a while a crack of thunder would sound that would make them all jump.

They packed their trunks and went to bed early that night so that they could wake up in time for the train the next day.  It would take them a good two hours to get to Kings Cross from Hermione's house.

They were woken up the next day by Hermione's father sticking his head in their room.  Harry and Ron stumbled out of bed, somehow managed to get their clothes on, and made their way downstairs where they were soon accompanied by a tired-looking Hermione and Ginny.

After eating their breakfast of toast they made their way back upstairs in attempts to haul their trunks outside, through the torrential rain, into Hermione's parents' car.  

By the time they had fitted themselves, their pets, and their trunks into the car they were both wet and squished.  Unlike the Weasley's former car (a ford Anglia that Harry and Ron had crashed in their second year into a very violent Whomping Willow on the Hogwarts grounds), Hermione's parents' car was not expanded inside by magic, so they had to fit four people into the three-person compatible back seat.  Luckily for Harry, he was so thin, so he could fit easily in-between Hermione and Ron.

They squelched their way out of the drive and were soon driving down the high-way on their way to Kings Cross.  Ron and Ginny enjoyed listening to all of the Muggle radio stations and were fascinated by the things that were being sold in the infomercials.

They arrived at Kings Cross with thirty minutes to spare, loaded their things onto trolleys and took turns running straight at the barrier in-between platforms nine and ten to get to platform nine-and-three-quarters.

Once they had gotten their things on the train and had loaded their pets onto the luggage racks, they went back outside of the barrier to say a quick 'good-bye' to Hermione's parents.

"Thanks for letting us stay Mr. and Mrs. Granger," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Ron, "we had loads of fun!"

"Thanks!" Piped in Ginny.

They each took turns shaking Hermione's parents' hands and only after Hermione had given her mother and father a hug did they return to platform nine-and-three-quarters.  They got on the train and were looking for a spare compartment but couldn't find any.  Then, to their great surprise, they saw Lupin sitting in one at the very end of the train, just as he had been in their third year; except that this time, he wasn't sleeping.

They walked in slowly and Lupin motioned for them to sit down.  They did so and were soon joined by Neville Longbottom, a round-faced forgetful boy who was holding his beloved cactus in his hand.

He was surprised to see Lupin there, but happy just the same.  "Professor!" He said when he first walked in, "are you coming back to teach this year?  Oh, please be our teacher!  You were so good!"

Lupin smiled and said, "Yes, I'll be teaching again this year."

"But…" Neville looked a little scared at saying what he was going to say next, "I heard…that you were a…a werewolf.  I mean…I don't have any problems with that, but what if other people do?"

"That," said Lupin, smiling, "is for the Headmaster and I to worry about, Neville."

            A whistle sounded somewhere and the doors along the train could be heard closing.  Then, without warning, the train began to pick-up speed.

Harry looked outside at the swirling clouds and the pouring rain as the train sped away from the station and towards Hogwarts.  Soon he and Ron got bored and began to play exploding snap.  

Their card castle had just exploded when their three least-favorite people showed up: Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle.  They stepped in and Ron and Harry both looked up, their eyebrows singed.  Malfoy opened his mouth, no doubt to make some snide remark, but quickly spotted Lupin and closed it.  He muttered something to Crabbe and Goyle and they stalked away after him, flexing their muscles, menacingly.

"What was that about?" Asked Hermione, closing the compartment door after them.

"I expect that they didn't want to pick a fight with a teacher in the compartment," said Ginny, looking at Lupin.

At around noon, the witch with the lunch trolley came and Harry and Lupin bought some cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, and fizzing wisbees to share with everyone.  Ron and Hermione were up in the Prefects compartment and they were due back shortly, so Harry, Ginny, and Lupin began to eat.

A little bit later, Hermione and Ron returned and helped themselves to the stack of candy.  Then, they all busied themselves by listening to Lupin tell them stories of Himself, Harry's father, and (though very carefully not to say anything that might upset Harry) Sirius and Peter.

"You know, Harry," he said, "your father and Sirius used to have races to see who could eat the most candy in the shortest amount of time.  And Peter and I used to see who could unwrap the most candy bars in the least amount of time.  So, Peter and I would unwrap it and James and Sirius would eat it.  We had a nice little system going on there."

As they sped on it got later and later.  It didn't seem possible, but the sky began to darken even more than it already was.  It was getting very late and Harry was sure that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon, so he began to change back into his school robes.  Hermione, Ron, and Ginny followed suit.

Soon, the train began to slow down and Harry could see Hogwarts clearly throughout the window now.  The train stopped in Hogsmeade station and they all began to clamber off, out through the rain.

"Firs' years over here!  Firs' years!"  Came Hagrid's loud voice through the storm.

"Hey, Hagrid!" Yelled Harry above the wind.

"All righ' you four?" He yelled back.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny climbed into one of the carriages pulled by the Theastrals and were soon joined by Lupin.  Once Lupin had closed the door, the Theastral began to pull the carriage and they were off bumping up to the castle.  Past the statues of winged boars, through the gates, and finally, they arrived at the front doors to the castle.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Lupin all stepped off their carriage and made their way up to Hogwarts Castle, where they were soon met by Peeves the Poltergeist.

**Thanx 2:**

**Aditij24: **Do you know what happens now?

**Sammy: **I'm writing more! Hee Hee!!!

**Jessica: **Thanx for the review! And thanx for dancing for me!

**Bea: **Ur a good reviewer! Thanx for the suggestions, is this detailed enough?


	5. Seamus's Surprise

"EEK!" Said Ginny as an entire bucket of water was drenched all over their already soaked robes.  Everyone else in the entrance hall stepped away from a spot some five feet from Ginny as Peeves dumped another bucket of water over there.

Harry looked up and saw Peeves, a tiny man in a large orange revolving bow-tie floating in mid-air, with a fleet of buckets (all filled with water) behind him.

"Peeves!" Said Lupin as he whipped out his wand.  "Peeves, leave now or I'll be forced to call the Headmaster!"

All Peeves did was blow a loud raspberry.  "Looney, loopy, Lupin! Looney, loopy, Lupin! Looney…"

"_Offendere_!"  Yelled Lupin pointing his wand at Peeves' face and all of a sudden Red blotches erupted on Peeves' cheeks.

He stopped singing and zoomed away, cursing.  His fleet of water-buckets fell to the floor sending a wave of cold water over everyone's shoes.  Harry quickly led Ron, Hermione, and Ginny away from the entrance hall and into the warmth of the Great Hall.

As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, they saw Lupin slip into his seat at the teachers table.

"I hope the sorting starts soon!"  Moaned Ron, massaging his stomach, "I'm so hungry!"

"Oh, but Ron!" Said Hermione, "Don't you want to see who else is going to be in Gryffindor this year?"

"No," he said.

Soon all of the students above first year were assembled in the Great Hall and it we beginning to get very noisy.  People kept looking towards the doors for some sign of the first years coming in for the sorting.  After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the doors burst open and Professor McGonagall came in with a three-legged stool and a patched-and-frayed wizards hat.  A group of about sixty scared-looking first years walked in behind her.

The rest of the school quieted as Professor McGonagall placed the stool in the center of the Hall with the wizards hat on top.  Everyone stared apprehensively at the hat and soon enough, a rip near the brim opened wide and it began to sing:

'Twas a long, long time ago,

This mighty school was found,

By the four greatest witches wizards of our age,

Whose names are still well-known.

There was bravest and bold Gryffindor,

Sweet Hufflepuff the fair,

Smart Ravenclaw was the cleverest,

Cunning Slytherin wit no despair.

In Gryffindor house the bravest were placed,

Their boldness far outnumbered the rest.

In Ravenclaw house the smartest were put,

Their brains were simply the best.

In Hufflepuff house the sweetest were found,

And the ones who didn't fit in.

In Slytherin house, the purest blood,

Would later find their kin.

So those four founders chose those ones,

Who suited them the most.

They were sorted into houses, four,

Each one to be their host.

They formed this great and noble school,

To teach those young at heart.

They'd take them in and teach them spells,

To make them really smart.

But how to choose once they were gone,

Was a question that would linger.

For they were not immortal souls,

And could not choose much later.

So Gryffindor, whom I adore,

Took me of his head,

And the smartest one, fair Ravenclaw,

Put some brains in my pointed head.

But soon the houses became divided,

For their selections were all unlike,

Oh, so little did they know that,

Soon bad times would strike.

Slytherin and Gryffindor

Became such great foes,

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw

What truly happened, no one knows.

So heed my warning,

Take great care,

Let us not ruin this school.

Dark times are approaching,

We must be strong,

Stand together as one,

Now…I must finish my song!

Here I am today, right now,

And I am anything but a fool,

Put me on, I'll look inside your head,

To choose a house for you!

The Great Hall erupted with some unsure applause.  Last year the hat had given a warning like this one and later everyone had found out that Lord Voldemort had truly risen again.

The first years looked as scared as ever as Professor McGonagall read off their names from a list:

"Arthur, Evan!"  A small black-haired boy cautiously walked up to the stool and sat down and placed the hat on his head.  It sat there for about fifteen seconds and then shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"  The Ravenclaw table applauded loudly.

"Andews, Felicia!"  A blonde-haired girl walked up to the stage and placed the hat on her head.  This time it covered her shiny hair for almost a minute before roaring, "GRYFFINDOR!"  The Gryffindor table exploded and Harry clapped along with the rest.

They got through the students from B through E (Gryffindor got 'Beterman, Emerick', 'Brown, Jacob', 'Danes, Rachel', 'Danielle, Daniel', 'Doreen, Ellen', and 'Emerson, Matilda').  But when they reached the F's Seamus Finnagin, a sandy-haired boy in Harry's year tapped him, Ron, and Hermione on the shoulder and pointed to a small girl with the same coloured hair as him.  "My sister!" He said.

And sure enough, "Finnagin, Heather!" Was called and Harry saw Seamus crossing his fingers under the table as she tried on the sorting hat.  No sooner had it touched her head, it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"  Heather came to sit down in-between Hermione and Seamus, looking very smug.

"Hi Heather," said Seamus, "this is Ron Weasley," he said motioning to Ron, "Hermione Granger," he pointed to Hermione, "and Harry Potter," he motioned to Harry, who waved.

At the sight of Harry, Heather blushed and turned back to her brother.  Ron raised his eyebrows at Harry as the sorting continued.  Soon there were five new additions to the Gryffindor table along with the students from A through F: 'Gold, Kenneth', 'Hughes, Jennifer', 'Lee, Jared', 'Smarts, Alan', and 'Williams, Amy'.

Once everyone was sitting at their tables, the Hall noise-level began to inch higher and higher.  Harry and Ron were staring apprehensively at the empty golden plates in front of them.  Suddenly, Dumbledore stood up to speak and the entire Hall fell silent.  "Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" He said stretching his arms out wide as though he wanted to hug the entire Hall, "I have a few words to say," he paused looking at the hungry faces around him, "but, I am also certain that no one as famished as you will actually listen to what I have to say and it is a pity to waste my breath when so many of you won't be listening.  Therefore," he paused again, "let the feast begin!"  And with that, he waived his arms and the plates in front of everyone filled suddenly with delicious food and drink.

Harry helped himself to everything he could reach and saw Ron doing the same.  Hermione, however, helped herself to very little and began to eat the least she could.  Harry, noticing this, said, "Starting with SPEW again, are you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," she said.

"But...Her-my-oh-nee…youf knowf fwat fey're 'appy?  Don't youf?"  Harry couldn't see how Ron had managed to say this in-between mouthfuls of food.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ron?  They're _brainwashed_!"

"Brainwashed, eh?"  Nearly-Headless Nick had come to join them.

"Yes," said Hermione, indignantly.

"She sdill doesn't gwet it, Nick!" Said Ron.

"I've already tried to explain it.  Remember last year?"  Said Nick, looking at Ron's full mouth with utter loathing and fixing his head in the ruff around his neck.

"They are poor, unfortunate, mistreated, deprived beings who-"

"They.  Like.  It! Hermione, _they like being enslaved_!  How many times do we have to explain it to you?"  Asked Harry.

"I don't care!  It's still not right!"  And with that, Hermione shoved her plate away, crossed her arms, and said no more.

The rest of dinner was very uneventful, besides Hermione's _tuh's _every time Harry or Ron reached for more food.  It was almost midnight by the time Harry was full.  He leaned back in his chair staring up at the stormy ceiling and thinking longingly of his four-poster bed.  As he gazed up into the gale and felt himself drifting into its depths.  The rain was coming down on him…he could actually feel it hitting his face.  Wait-why _was_ there rain hitting his face?

He sat up straight and looked around and saw that Ron had been splashing him with his pumpkin juice to get his attention.  When Harry looked at him, he sniggered and pointed up to Dumbledore who had stood up once again.

"I must remind all of you that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds as usual.  You may go into it but only if you wish to suffer an immense amount of pain.

"Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you (and it is hard to forget myself because he reminds me at least twice a day) that magic is forbidden in corridors.  As well are screaming yo-yo's, biting freebees, and many other oddities that witches and wizards in our magical community have unfortunately decided to produce.  The full list of allowances is posted on Mr. Filch's office door if you would like to double-check it.

"And one last reminder.  Because of the events of last year I beg of you (and I am most certain that you will obey) not to badger the people who know anything about the Dark Lord's return."  Harry could've sworn that Dumbledore had given the smallest glance.

"Lastly, this is not a reminder this time; I would like to introduce you to a new staff member who may have been an old teacher for you.  Professor Lupin has kindly come back to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

There was quite a lot of applause.  Everyone who was fourth year or up and in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff was clapping enthusiastically.  Not one single person at the Slytherin table was clapping and everyone from third year and down was clapping politely.  Lupin smiled and waved and then turned to talk to Professor McGonagall, who was sitting next to him.

"Now," said Dumbledore, clasping his hands together, "I have kept you here for long enough!  Bed-time!  Shoo, shoo!"

Harry got up and followed Ron and Hermione out of the hall.  "Why don't you two have to round up the first years?" Ginny asked.

"That's the sixth year's job.  _We_ don't really have to do much this year except look important and scare all of the younger students away."  Said Ron.

"Ron!" Said Hermione.

They made their way up to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, which was located on the seventh floor behind a large painting of a fat lady in a pink satin dress.  Harry reached the portrait first and waited for Ron and Hermione to get close enough so that the fat lady could hear them say the password.

"_Obbrutesco_," said Ron once he had gotten close enough, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a circular room with squishy couches and a fire burning merrily in the grate.  Harry crawled through the passageway and into the common room and was shortly joined by Ron and Hermione.

He and Ron made their way up to their dormitory.  The sign on the door now read 'Sixth Year'.  They walked inside and gravitated towards their familiar four-poster beds.  Harry began to pull his pajamas on just as Seamus, Dean, and Neville walked in.  Harry sat down on the squishy mattress of his bed, feeling ready for a good night's sleep, but Seamus pulled him over to the side to talk to him.

"Yeah," said Harry, completely bewildered as he stood a foot from Seamus.

"Uh…Harry?"  Said Seamus, awkwardly, "er…I really don't know how to put this…but my…my sister fancies you."  He said this last bit as fast as he could.

"_What_?"  Said Harry, now more confused than he was before.  "How d'you reckon that?"

"Well, didn't you see her at dinner?"  He asked, "when she met you…she blushed a bit.  And then she turned to me and told me that she fancies you.  But I promised her that I wouldn't tell you…if you see her, try not to let it slip."

"But why are you telling me this?"  Said Harry.

"Well, because I just wanted you to be on the look-out.  You know, don't be surprised if she does anything stupid.  Believe me, she just might send you a bouquet of roses or something."

"Okay…" said Harry.  He walked over to his four-poster, set his glasses on his bedside table, laid down, twitched the hangings and fell into a very uneasy sleep about young girls who looked exactly like Seamus except with long hair and bouquets of roses dancing around him…


	6. The Mirror's Image

The next day Harry awoke and went down to breakfast to find that the course schedules were being passed out by Professor McGonagall.  He sat down and examined his schedule:

**_Monday_**

**9-o-clock** **- **Herbology

**11-o-clock – **Care Of Magical Creatures

**Lunch**

**1-o-clock – **Charms

**3-o-clock - **Transfiguration

"The schedule's packed today!"  Said Ron, who had just sat down next to Harry.

"Yeah," said Harry, "I hope we don't get too much homework."

"We always do.  It's like the school's tradition: 'give each student the most homework on the first day of term,'" said Ron.

"Yeah," said Harry helping himself to pumpkin juice.  "But at least we don't have any tests to study for this year."

"That doesn't mean anything!"  Exclaimed Ron, "They had us studying for the O.W.L.'s in fourth year!"

"Okay…"  The sky was still a pale gray and Harry wasn't sure if it was going to clear up by Herbology.  Just as he looked up, the post arrived.

About two hundred different colored owls soared in each dropping packages and letters to their owners.  Harry saw that Malfoy's eagle owl had given him a large array of sweets from home.  Neville's owl showed up with a large package that Harry could only assume was the things that Neville had forgotten to bring to school.

A large barn owl arrived at the Gryffindor table just, as Hermione walked into the Hall, clutching the _Daily Prophet _in its beak.  Hermione took the newspaper from it, deposited three silver sickles into the pouch around its neck, and watched it take flight again.  Then, she unfurled the _Prophet _and opened it to read.

"What?" Said Ron, "not even a 'good morning' or 'nice to see you?'"

Hermione took no notice of him, but closed the paper and began to eat her toast.

"Why are you still getting that?"  Harry asked.

"Just to make sure there's no bad news about Voldemort in there," she said calmly.

Silence followed her comment.  It wasn't all that fun to talk about Voldemort after what he had Bellatrix do to Sirius.  Harry and Ron continued to eat while Hermione folded up her paper.

A quarter of an hour later, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were making their way down the sloping lawns to the greenhouses.  They assembled in front and were shortly joined by Professor Sprout.  "Greenhouse six today!"  She said as she came close enough for them to hear her.

"Horklump's!"  She practically shouted as they all assembled around a table full of pinkish mushrooms covered in wiry black bristles.  "Can anyone here explain to the class what a Horklump is?"

Immediately Hermione's hand shot into the air and she said, as though reading from a textbook, "A prodigious breeder, the Horklump will cover an average garden in a matter of days.  It spreads sinewy tentacles rather than roots into the ground to search for its preferred food of earthworms.  The Horklump is a favourite delicacy of gnomes but otherwise has no discernible use."

"Good girl!" Said Professor Sprout, "fifteen points to Gryffindor."  Hermione beamed.

They spent the rest of the lesson seeing if they could touch the Horklump's without them sprouting their wiry bristles out of their backs.  Ron managed to tap it with a feather for ten seconds before one of its tentacles rose out of the ground and slapped him on the face.

"I should have warned you," said Professor Sprout, "they don't like to be tickled."

As they made their way down to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures, they saw three all-too familiar backs in front of them and knew that they must be having this class, once again, with the Slytherins.

As they approached, Draco Malfoy turned around and started.  "Hello, Potter," he spat, "I can't wait to see what that great oaf's got planned for a lesson today!"  Crabbe and Goyle snickered behind him.

"Where's your dad?"  Asked Hermione, casually, "partying with his friends somewhere in a cell in Azkaban."

Harry could've sworn that the smile on Malfoy's face flickered, but he caught himself and said, "what do you know, you little _Mudblood_!  With the Dementor's gone, my father will be out in no time."  With that, he, Crabbe, and Goyle turned around and stalked off to the other side of the crowd of kids.

Just then, Hagrid came striding out of his hut, holding a small cage, "Got summat great fer you today!"  He roared, "come in a bit closer, if yeh wan' a better look at 'em!"

The class closed in on Hagrid and the cage, which he placed on a tree stump.  "Yeh migh' wanna put on yer dragon skin gloves fer this," he said.  The class all dug into their bags and pulled out their gloves, which they hastily pulled over their hands.

"Alrigh', what I've got fer yeh today is three Billywig's," said Hagrid.

"Ooh!"  Said Hermione, she was obviously the only one who knew what Billywig's were."

"Can anyone here tell me wha' a Billywig is?"  Asked Hagrid.

Hermione's hand, once again, shot up into the air and she said, "Billywig's are native to Australia.  They fly at a speed at such a rate that muggles hardly notice them until they've been stung.  The Billywig's wings are attached to the top of its head and are rotated very fast so that it spins as it flies.  At the bottom of the body is a long thin sting. Those who have been stung by a Billywig suffer giddiness followed by levitation.  Generations of young Australian witches and wizards have attempted to catch Billywig's and provoke them into stinging in order to enjoy these side effects, though too many stings cause the victim to hover uncontrollably for days on end, and there is a severe allergic reaction, permanent floating may ensue."

"Very good, Hermione!  Twenty points fer Gryffindor!"  Said Hagrid, "now, if yeh get stung the effects won' last that long.  Probably fer abou' an hour or so.  Anyone wanna get stung?"

To Harry's great surprise, almost everyone in the class stepped forward with their arms outstretched.

* * *

An hour later, the Gryffindors traipsed up to the castle for lunch, each of them sporting small stinger holes on their hands and floating about two inches above the ground.  By the time they made it to the great hall, though, the stings were wearing off and ever few minutes someone else would fall to the floor with a thud.

After lunch they made it to Charms where they were reviewing cheering charms.  All of this happiness in one day, Harry thought that everyone would explode.  Tiny little Professor Flitwick was very surprised to find that everyone was twice as happy as they should be when the charms were performed.  But when they went to Transfiguration, however, the charms had very little effect when they found out that they had to write a twelve inch paper on exactly how to change a skunk into a pillow.

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way out of the classroom, once the bell had sounded, signaling dinner, Professor McGonagall called Harry back.  "Potter!  A word if you please."

Ron made to turn around and head back to Professor McGonagall with Harry, but stopped as if he wasn't sure if he should.  "Yes, you may stay if you'd like, as well, Weasley."

Harry approached the Professor's desk expecting to be getting more homework (he still hadn't managed to make the outside of the skunk/pillow transfigure; it still had a black and white stripes and a tail).

"Potter, as you know, Angelina Johnson, the former quidditch captain, is not returning to Hogwarts this year."  Harry was completely taken aback; he hadn't been expecting a quidditch talk from McGonagall.

"Yeah…" said Harry, not sure what she was getting at.

"Well, Potter, after thinking carefully about it, I think that you're the best one to be the team captain."  Harry was in shock.  He had always wondered what it would be like to be team captain but he never thought that he would be the one that McGonagall would choose.

He felt Ron's hand clap him on his back, "way to go, Harry!"

"Thanks, Professor!"  Said Harry, not aware that he was stuttering.  Professor McGonagall actually smiled at him, and he felt Ron's hand steering him out of the classroom.

Five minutes later, he slumped down in a seat in the Great Hall, still not aware of himself.  Hermione took one look at him and said, "Harry!  What's the matter?"

"He's just been made Quidditch team captain," said Ron from somewhere to his right.

"Oh, Harry!  That's wonderful!"

"What's happened?"  Ginny had just sat down.

"Harry's just been made the Quidditch team captain," said Hermione.

"Brilliant, Harry!  Can I be beater?"  Asked Ginny.

"Yeah," said Harry, "anything…"

Dinner was uneventful, besides Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell coming up to him and congratulating him, "McGonagall's just told us!"

That night, in the Common Room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were trying to do their homework by the fire, but it seemed almost impossible with everyone coming up to Harry and congratulating him on becoming captain.  It seemed as though the rumor of him being chosen had traveled throughout the Gryffindor house in no time at all.

Finally, at about eleven, Harry decided that enough was enough and he and Ron headed up to their dormitory, got into pajamas and laid down in their four-poster beds.  Harry was staring up at the ceiling; at the shapes that the clouds made floating across the moon.  He saw shapes within shapes…a face was staring down at him from above…a face that he knew.  He stretched out a hand to touch it and knew who it was…Sirius was looking down at him.  He could see his godfather's face clearer than ever.  He saw the picture of Sirius at his parent's wedding, Sirius as the shaggy black dog, Sirius in Grimmauld Place, Sirius dueling with Bellatrix…the spell hitting him…him falling through the veil…

Harry woke with a start.  He sat bolt up, panting furiously and drenched in a cold sweat.  He had lived through this nightmare a dozen times before…his godfather's last moments being replayed inside his head.

He opened the hangings on his bed, fumbled around on his bedside table with his hand, trying to find his glasses, and got, as quietly as he could, out of bed.  He tiptoed over to his trunk and opened it to reveal a mess of his books, quills, ink, parchment, and clothes.  He fumbled around, almost blinded by the darkness, trying to find it.  He knew it was there somewhere.  He had been keeping it here all of this time, ever since he had smashed it last term.  All he wanted was a little sign of hope that Sirius was alive and that he, Harry, could do something to rescue him.  Finally, he found what he was looking for.

He pulled out a small velvet bag, went back over to his bed, and sat down.  Next, he found his wand and opened the bag.  Inside, where a dozen or so tiny glass pieces that had belonged to a mirror – in fact, it was the two-way mirror that Sirius had given him right before he went on the Knight Bus to get back to Hogwarts, last year.

He took out the smashed mirror, piece by piece and laid the pieces out on his bed.  He had smashed the mirror the previous school year, out of frustration when he looked in it and knew that he would never see his godfather again.  He pointed his wand at the jagged pieces and whispered, "_Repairo_!"

Almost at once the tiny pieces flew up and connected together to make the mirror whole again.  It was like looking at a jigsaw puzzle being put together before Harry's eyes.  Once it was whole again, Harry took the mirror off his bed and muttered, "_Lumos_!"

His wand lit so that he could look at the mirror clearly.  Making sure that his bed's hangings were blocking him from view he looked into the mirror and saw his own reflection.  "Sirius Black," he muttered, hoping that the mirror would show him something that it hadn't the last time.

He stared into the mirror for almost five minutes.  Not a single picture flashed before his eyes, except for his own, drooping eyelids.  He was just about to put the mirror back into his trunk when he saw something.  It cold have been a trick of the light, for he had been moving the mirror at the time.  But, no, it couldn't be!

He was sure that he had seen something.  It couldn't have been Sirius.  It was milk-white and almost transparent…like a ghost.  He held the mirror up to his face, so that it was touching his nose and whispered again, "Sirius Black."

Nothing happened.  Not one single thing moved before him.  But he was sure that he had seen something, a flicker of his godfather.  It could have been his mind playing tricks on him…but no.  He was sure that he saw it with his own eyes.  

He wrapped the mirror in the velvet bag, tucked it back into his trunk, extinguished his wand, and placed his glasses on his bedside table.  Then, he laid down, staring at the open window next to him, watching the faint moonlight flow through the window and wondering…if what he saw had been real.

**Thanx 2:**

**April: **Thanx for the review and I fixed Seamus's name!

**Jess: **Keep dancing for me!


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